Ah, it’s General Conference Weekend. All five sessions are over and now we are lazing about the house, the boys are playing Legos and fighting over the comics. Mary and Erik are jumping on the trampoline. I feel sorry for Erik– it’s cold out there! It snowed yesterday and has been wet and rainy ever since. We joke that it always rains on conference weekend so that the anti-Mormon protestors have to stand out there and yell in the cold.
I love conference. I look forward to it for months and consider conference the two reference marks of the year. I’ll admit I’m picky about what I consider to be a good talk. Every talk should feature personal experiences, but those experiences can’t be “look how cool I am.” I like speakers to be forceful, unapologetic and sure of what they say. Most importantly, a talk should motivate me to change and better my life.
My favorites were: Elder Packer who taught that every member is as valuable as another, Elder Holland who spoke on the nature of God, Julie Beck who spoke of the power of mothers and Elder Oaks who spoke of seeking for “good, better, best” and not wasting our lives on distractions. Ah, and how can I forget Elder Eyring who advised us to write about our lives every day!
Celia’s kids spent the morning with us and we had crepes and whip cream. Coming from a family of two docile children, I think they were astonished by the noise and confusion. Erik bought a bag of Skittles and the kids went crazy. Because he didn’t want them to eat too many or to hurt themselves climbing around in the pantry looking for them he said they had to stand in the corner and wait and he would give them a few pieces of candy.
Mary is good at waiting for her treats. Gabriel would rather just climb up and get them himself!
